Lane changing car

Abstract

A miniature toy steerable car uses the selective direction of rotation of the motor to effectively steer the front wheels of the vehicle. A reversible motor selectively drives one of a pair of rear wheels by means of a gear arrangement and one-way drive mechanisms such that one or the other of the rear wheels of the vehicle acts to drive and propel the vehicle in a forward direction. The motor is coupled with a front wheel steering mechanism which causes the front wheels to turn in one direction when the rotation of the motor is clockwise and causes the front wheels to turn in the other direction when the rotation of the motor is reversed or made to rotate counterclockwise.

What I claim is: 
     
       1. A miniature toy steerable vehicle comprising: a chassis including at least one front wheel pivotally mounted for steering movement and at least one rear wheel; a reversible electric motor; electrical pick-up means electrically connecting said motor to an external source of electric current; transmission means interconnecting said motor to said rear wheel to propel said vehicle in the forward direction irrespective of the direction of rotation of said motor; and steering means operatively coupling said motor to said front wheel, said steering means instantaneously turning said front wheel in a continuous uninterrupted motion in a first steering direction when the motor rotates in a clockwise direction and instantaneously turning said front wheel in a continuous uninterrupted motion in a second direction when the motor rotates in a counterclockwise direction; said steering means comprising a worm gear connected to and rotatable with said motor, and a directional rod attached at one end to said front wheel, the other end of said directional rod tangentially engaged with said worm gear and traveling in the grooves of said worm gear, whereby displacement of said other end of said directional rod along the length of said worm gear in response to the direction of rotation thereof serves to turn said front wheels to steer said vehicle. 
     
     
       2. A vehicle as claimed in claim 1 wherein said directional rod is formed of resilient material and is biased in contact with said worm gear. 
     
     
       3. A vehicle as claimed in claim 2 wherein said worm gear has limiting means at each end thereof to limit the movement of said directional rod and said directional rod idles at the ends of said worm gear when engaged with said limiting means. 
     
     
       4. A vehicle as claimed in claim 3 wherein, when said directional rod is engaged with said limiting means, said other end of the directional rod moves perpendicular to the axis of said worm gear riding over the threads thereof as said worm gear is rotated by said motor. 
     
     
       5. A vehicle as claimed in claim 1 wherein said motor has an armature and armature shaft and said worm gear is fixedly mounted on said armature shaft. 
     
     
       6. A vehicle as claimed in claim 1 wherein the axis of said front wheel and said directional rod are integral. 
     
     
       7. A vehicle as claimed in claim 1 wherein said directional rod is pivotally mounted on said chassis and connected to said front wheel for steering movement.